Pained Silences
by Puddycat
Summary: Is no news really good news? Roy finds himself wondering after a seemingly simple mission goes horribly wrong. T for injuries and a little swearing.
1. Chapter 1

I've had an urge to do a multi-chapter for a while, but of the ones I've started (around twenty or so) this looks to be one of very few I'll actually get around to finishing, so this is the one I'm putting up here. For the record, the italics aren't technically flashbacks; bear with the fic and all will be explained, I'm trying something out here and you guys are being my guinea pigs. You can insert a mysterious smile or something here if you think it'd suit me better than a straight face... I won't pretend updates will even resemble being regular, but I'll post when I can.

Disclaimer - I'm not Japanese, and my self-portrait is not a really awesome cow. So no, I'm not Arakawa-sensei, but I do borrow her characters for abuse in non-profit products of boredom such as this.

_---_

_Sharp pains sprang through Edward's body as he slowly stirred from the darkness; his head was pounding, his ribs ached and his lungs were on fire._

_But he was alive._

_Gently, ever so gently he took a slow breath, cringing as it bit into his lungs and made him cough violently. Forcing himself to roll onto his front, he let his forehead rest against the cold, wet ground as he hacked up water and Lord only knew what else, spitting it out onto the mud and gasping for a full breath._

_His throat was raw by the time he stopped choking, far too much water having been trapped within his chest and subsequently brought back up. Every muscle screaming its protest, the blonde forced his weight upon his shaking arms as he pushed himself up to kneel on the ground instead._

_Eyes shying away from the harsh sunlight, Edward gazed blearily around, his mind still foggy yet sharp enough to guess it was probably concussion. Cliffs stretched for miles on both sides of the river, with no indication of which side he was on, never mind how far down he had drifted._

_As if suddenly remembering something, he brought his gaze down to ground level and scanned the area nearby; a small, unmoving lump caught his attention and he realised at once that the young child must have been caught in the same current as him to have remained so close._

_Edward tried to stand but his legs shook and threatened to give way beneath him, forcing him to sink back down to the ground; yet as he stared at the lump, undue concern began to rise within him._

"_Spoilt little shit..." he growled under his breath, pausing for a moment before forcing his burning arms to pull his weight along as he dragged himself across the ground._

---

"Sir, we have a problem," Hawkeye announced as she entered the office, giving a brief nod to Edward as she passed.

"If it's anything bigger than a lack of paperclips, I don't want to hear it," the Colonel muttered, letting his head rest in the palms of his hands.

"The Drachman ambassador's youngest son has been kidnapped by the ISAAM; the Fuhrer wants every one of the most able soldiers out looking for him."

"ISAAM?" Edward repeated slowly. "I've heard that before... What is it?"

"Ishballan Survivors Against the Amestrian Military," Roy answered darkly. "A rebel group formed just after the war ended, they've been giving us hell with diplomats and the like ever since."

"The ambassador believes it's the military's fault that the child was captured, so Fuhrer Bradley has commissioned the best soldiers to ensure he is found," the Lieutenant explained. "He personally requested both of you."

"Both of us?" the boy asked uncertainly – he had been about to leave on a lead... "Why both of us?"

"It seems Bradley is aware of your skills and determination to complete a task, he thinks you could be useful."

"And as for me, he knows I can't say no," Roy added bitterly.

"But it's just rescuing a kid, right? Surely it doesn't need that many people?"

"Don't underestimate what the ISAAM are willing to do to prove a point," the raven-haired man told him harshly. "Their first action as a group was to take a man apart piece by piece while he was still alive, and their second was to get one of their own in the streets of Central to cut his wrists and die bleeding in front of the market while screaming about their cause. Both of these were just to show us how far they would go if they wanted to."

"And Bradley wants us to bring this kid back alive?" Edward asked sceptically, slightly shocked by what he had been told.

"There will be teams of seven, apparently," Hawkeye explained, briefly glancing at the sheet in her hand. "They've been grouped into people who should work well together; Colonel, you're in charge of ours."

"Ours?" Roy repeated.

"Yes, ours – I've been commissioned for it too, Sir. The three of us are in a team along with Major Hughes and Lieutenants Danby and Rusher; Lieutenant Havoc will be there too, but his primary position is medic."

"Danby and Rusher... I've never heard of them."

"Our skills should all support each other, Sir – you two and Havoc will be covered by us if you need to prepare anything, Danby and Rusher both have some martial arts training to assist Edward with hand-to-hand, and Hughes is experienced with various weapons in case they have something other than guns. I'm sure Edward is quick enough to pick it up without getting hurt, but any foreign weapons may need explaining to Danby and Rusher, and Hughes is familiar with both of them so can tell them how to get around them."

The boy listened to all of it without uttering a sound, his mind already flicking through possible scenarios and ways out of them if everyone worked together. If they didn't, he would probably end up taking charge of the situation himself, but as he didn't know what kind of skills the kidnappers possessed, he couldn't work out any strategies.

"Our orders so far are to meet in the courtyard by 9am tomorrow, where we will be given further instructions."

"Thank you, Hawkeye," Roy accepted the sheet of paper before she turned and left the office. He shot a sly look to the oddly quiet boy on the couch, but didn't comment on his behaviour; he knew he was still too young to fully comprehend the true horrors the world could produce, so he didn't press him for a reaction.

Yet.

---

My apologies if that really confused anyone - like I said, I'm trying a new little thing with this one because it just seems to work better than writing it "normally", but I'm not quite sure what you guys will think of it. So... What _did_ you think? (And again... prompts for _Got Your Back_ are still more than welcome)


	2. Chapter 2

Holy cow, a relatively quick update from me! Don't keep on expecting this treatment, y'know - this is still me we're talking about... Plus I've literally just moved out to start at university (I'm doing Creative Writing! How awesome is that?) so updates may become a very rare thing indeed. But please don't be put off, I will still be updating, just not as often as I'd like (or maybe more often than usual - I'm not sure what to expect yet). So without further ado, on with the fic!

Disclaimer - I'm not Japanese, and my self-portrait is not a really awesome cow. So no, I'm not Arakawa-sensei, but I do borrow her characters for abuse in non-profit products of boredom such as this.

---

_Pain scorched through his body as Edward's arms gave way beneath him, landing him heavily upon the stones and mud, each pebble creating a fresh bruise all of its own. He lay still for a moment, letting the pain remind him he had managed to survive so far before biting down on his lip and forcing his arms to take his weight again._

_His flesh arm looked like one solid bruise with cuts upon it, and from the pain radiating out from it, he guessed it was fractured in at least two places; the connections to his nerves in his automail arm had also been damaged, sending a constant white-hot buzz into his shoulder that burnt and ached but couldn't be removed because he would need both arms. Each breath seared into his awareness as his broken ribs moved, a rhythmic ache that made his breathing laboured even though that increased the pain. _

_Blood dripped from his chin where it had impacted upon the stones, but he paid it no heed; he knew what his major injuries were and he was still moving, so he didn't need to dwell on any smaller ones._

_He collapsed again as he reached the boy, out of breath and cringing with pain; his head felt on the verge of exploding, and he sorely felt like just staying where he was and sobbing. But no – he stopped crying a long time ago, he wasn't going to start again now._

_Lying flat against the ground, he rolled the small child over to face him; he was pale and looked like Death. With a growl of frustration, Edward rolled him over onto his other side and smacked his back hard several times, until the boy began choking and coughing up the river water._

_It seemed like hours before he stopped._

---

"I assume by now you are all aware of why you are here," the Fuhrer began, his voice echoing out across the courtyard. "The son of the Drachman ambassador has been kidnapped by the ISAAM; we need to bring him back alive. It's up to each team to research and follow any possible leads in your area. General Hakuro, your team will go East; General Gran will go North; General Toshiko will go South, and Colonel Mustang's unit will search the West."

The Generals and their teams shot smug smirks in the direction of Roy's team, but he remained stoic and unreadable, as did the soldiers in line behind him; their leader might be a lower rank than the officers in charge of the other squads, but they knew he was more capable and their team was more able than the others. They all saluted as the Fuhrer left (although Edward's was somewhat less than half-hearted as he tried to ignore the feel of the uncomfortable blue uniform), but as soon as he was out of earshot the Generals and their teams rounded on Roy's squad.

"Not one of you is over 35," Toshiko smirked patronisingly. "You're all lacking in experience."

"Bullshit," Edward muttered, loud enough for him to hear.

"What was that?" the General's eyes narrowed dangerously, then widened slightly in surprise as the boy met his gaze and repeated himself.

"I said bullshit; clock up the field time, I've got more than you – most of us have. We're not the ones lacking in experience."

"Playing with toys doesn't count, boy."

Instantly Edward's temper flared, but despite the sense of danger surrounding the blonde, Roy didn't step in; he knew the boy wasn't stupid enough to seriously lose control of his anger towards a superior, so he didn't see any reason to stop him unless he started to push it too far.

"When I was _eleven_, I had to save Hakuro's ass because he couldn't do it himself and neither could any of you; I hardly think I'm the one who should be patronised," Edward answered, an icy calm entering his voice as Hughes and Havoc coughed gently to mask triumphant laughs.

"Tell me boy, do you-"

"That's enough, Toshiko," General Hakuro cut in, obviously uncomfortable at being reminded of the incident on the train and being rescued by a child. "Even back then he was more capable than any of us; the boy has experience and talent, now let it rest and get on with the mission. We each have our different areas to examine, so I see no reason why you should be so intent on winding each other up when you probably won't even pass in corridors after this."

While Hakuro was speaking, Edward got a bizarre prickly feeling running along his spine; glancing around, he saw General Gran watching him closely with a decidedly threatening look on his features. The blonde frowned lightly before turning his attentions back to the other two Generals in front of him.

"My apologies for interrupting," Roy cut in smoothly. "But there's a child's life depending on us, so please excuse my team and I while we go to look for him."

With a salute and a tiny smirk, the Colonel walked away; he was followed closely by the rest of his squad, all of whom were hiding grins until they were within the sanctuary of Roy's office. Danby and Rusher seemed less keen to relax than the others, but after a nudge and grin from Havoc as he lit a cigarette they let small smiles show on their faces.

"I meant what I said out there, you know," Roy began as he slid into the chair behind his desk and his subordinates arranged themselves either on the couch or the floor; the furniture seemed to have been allocated by the soldiers' age, as Edward and Fuery had settled on the floor. "Hughes, I want you in charge of searching for leads; make sure everyone knows what they're looking for. Any that look plausible, I want Edward checking them out – but I also want you in as constant contact as possible, and if you find them and act on your own, you'll get a court martial and I'll have your resources restricted, understood?"

"Yeah, I got it," Edward rolled his eyes, pausing suddenly as he got an idea.

"What?"

"We're assuming they've left the city, right?"

"Yeah."

"So they'd have gone through the west side anyway?"

"Of course..." Hughes murmured thoughtfully.

"What?" Havoc asked, pulling a face. "C'mon, some of us aren't as quick as you guys."

"Are you familiar with the west side?" the Major asked; Havoc shook his head. "It's known as... Uh..." Hughes cast a sideways glance at Edward before coughing and continuing. "Shit Row; it's where all the not-so-legal things happen."

"Some people call it the asshole of Central, too," Edward added helpfully, shooting a cheerful smile towards the slightly shocked Major.

"Indeed... So if the kidnappers wanted to get out of the city without us finding out where they went, they'd go through the district where no-one's very keen to talk to us."

"So shall I go ask around?"

"Ed... No offence, but how do you expect to find out anything over there?"

"What, you think just 'cause I'm fourteen I don't have any contacts?" the boy grinned, leaving the office before anyone could say a word against his going.

"Umm... Why does a kid his age have contacts down on Shit Row?" Havoc asked after a moment.

"If you think about it logically, it's one of the best sources for information," Hawkeye explained carefully, watching what she said in front of the two new Lieutenants. "They go unseen and unmonitored by the State, so there's no-one censoring what they say; they can walk down the middle of a street and not be seen; and Edward's research subject isn't exactly commonplace – there's a chance someone there may have been ostracised for their knowledge."

"Yeah, but _how_ does a kid his age get contacts there?" Havoc asked, a frown crossing his features. "They've gotta know he works for the State..."

"Well, we can't really ask him about it right now," Hughes sighed, standing and stretching. "Who's coming for a trip down to the Incidents Room?"

"Why there?"

"If anyone's reported anything, it goes through there before being filed; generally it takes around a week to process and organise things for filing, so if there's anything about the ambassador's kid then it should be pretty easy to find."

"Can't hurt to look," Roy agreed, not admitting that he thought Edward would get a lead before they did.

----

Questions? Comments? Suggestions for Got Your Back? (I'm going to keep up with that one until I get a decent idea XD)


	3. Chapter 3

Don't worry, Al will be in this later; he's not just conveniently decided to go off to Risembool or anything like that (sounds so ominous now... Heheheh...)

Disclaimer - I'm not Japanese, and my self-portrait is not a really awesome cow. So no, I'm not Arakawa-sensei, but I do borrow her characters for abuse in non-profit products of boredom such as this.

_---_

_Edward lay still on his front for several minutes, staring listlessly at the motionless child's back; it hurt so much to move, but he had to. They couldn't stay where they were forever, and Edward at least needed medical treatment – not to mention that the nights were fast becoming near-freezing... They had to move._

_With clenched teeth only just suppressing a cry of pain, Edward pushed himself up again and crawled to the boy's other side, forcing himself to ignore the throbbing in both arms and his ribs as he moved; he had to keep closing his eyes and breathing deeply despite the pain in his chest just to control the pounding in his head, or he really would find himself in tears._

_Pushing himself up to kneel on the ground took far more effort than he liked, but still he paid it little regard; he had to find a way to get both himself and the boy back up the cliff, he couldn't let himself grow exhausted yet._

"_Hey, Kid," Edward croaked, his voice tearing through his throat and his arms stinging as he reached forward to shake him lightly. "Kid. Wake up."_

_The young Drachman cracked his eyes open weakly, unable even to turn his head and look around._

"_Where am I?" he asked softly, his voice little more than a whisper._

"_Bottom of the damn cliff – and we need to get back up top. Can you walk?"_

"_How are we getting back up?"_

"_...I don't know. I'll figure something out. Now can you walk?"_

"_I'm not sure."_

_Edward swore softly as his resolve nearly caved; even uninjured he would find it difficult, but in this state it was near impossible to help the child along._

_How the hell was he going to do this?_

---

The Colonel sighed as he closed the fourth folder he had looked at.

"I thought you said this would be easy to find?" he growled at Hughes, his mood as dark as his now-cold coffee.

"I said it'd be easier to find than if it had been filed," the Major corrected with a sigh as he cleaned his glasses. "These are the most recent, not listed by events; if they'd been filed already, we wouldn't know where to start. As it is, we only have to go through reports from the past two days."

"But those reports are mixed in with ones from last week," Roy sighed irritably as he pinched the bridge of his nose against a growing headache. "This is going to take hours just to find all the stuff from the past two days, never mind sorting through all of _that_..."

The harsh ring of the telephone cut off any more conversation, everyone wincing slightly as it screamed into their ears until Roy almost tore it apart as he picked it up.

"What?" he snapped.

"Not having much luck, huh?" an irritatingly familiar voice laughed down the line.

"Whatever it is, get on with it."

"Several people have said they saw them heading west once they'd left the city; I've been told someone else overheard exactly where they were going but I haven't been able to find them yet."

"Where are you? We'll meet you and head out to look for them."

"I've gotta go find this other guy or we won't know where to look... I'll meet you on the corner by The Dragon Inn."

"Fine. But these leads had better not be fake."

"They're not."

The line went dead as Edward hung up; Roy suppressed a growl of frustration before placing the receiver back in its cradle. Hughes counted slowly to five before daring to open his mouth.

"Was that Ed?" he asked gingerly; even after a moment to calm, Roy was still volatile while in a bad mood.

"Apparently they were seen heading west after they left the city," the Colonel began slowly, trying not to take his frustration out on his friend. "The kid seems to think we can trust them."

"And you don't?"

"You know as well as I do he can be far too naive when he wants to be."

"Have you considered he might actually know what he's doing?" Maes challenged gently. "He's spent the past couple of years doing exactly this; he'll have found the people to trust by now. So where are we meeting him?"

"The Dragon Inn, wherever the hell that is."

The soldiers stared at each other in silence, each of them wondering the exact same thing.

"Maybe you should have asked him for directions?" Havoc quipped with a grin; Roy glared at him in response.

"Umm..." Rusher raised his hand slowly, blushing scarlet and averting his gaze from the others. "I know where it is..."

---

"So this is Shit Row," Hughes remarked as the state of the city rapidly declined around them; the residents watched them warily, some eyeing their holstered weapons, others looking upon their uniforms with severe distrust.

"The Dragon is the last bar on the main strip towards the west," Rusher told them quietly. "It's pretty much the only place where you can still read the sign, but it's still a dive."

The further in they walked, the more distrusting the stares got, to the point where a lot of people would go into buildings or slide into alleys as they got close. One young woman ignored the rest and walked straight up to the soldiers, her gaze flicking between them before settling on Havoc.

"You got a smoke?" she asked boldly, catching him completely off guard and bringing the entire group to a standstill.

"Uh... Yeah, sure," Havoc answered slowly, more than a little wrong-footed as he pulled out the carton and handed a cigarette and the box of matches over.

"Thanks," the woman said after she had lit it, tossing the small box back to him. "The kid got tied up, by the way; asked me to come find you before someone beat you up or somethin'."

"We can take care of ourselves, thanks," Roy answered as he took in her outfit; she wore what at first appeared to be a plain blouse with a corset over the top, and a long skirt with heeled boots, chestnut hair falling loosely around her shoulders. Upon paying more attention, the Colonel noticed the shirt was unbuttoned much lower than usual, and the way she held herself indicated her profession was widely considered to be anything but respectable. At no more than 25, this woman was a prostitute.

"Is that so?" she answered with a smug smirk. "Then I guess that rumour about you being useless without your gloves isn't true?" Roy gave her a blank look, and she sighed. "Check your pockets, dumbass."

They weren't there.

"What did you do?" he asked warily.

"Wasn't me," she grinned, leaning around to look at someone behind them. "Give 'em back, Charlie, these guys are with Ed."

They turned to see a black-haired boy about the same age as Edward standing with a sheepish grin holding Roy's gloves, and every soldier but Hawkeye's gun. The blonde Lieutenant gave him a curious look as he returned the stolen items.

"Don't steal from ladies," he explained with a grin; one of his front teeth was missing, she noticed. "Plus you've got the good sense to keep a hand on your belongings, Miss – no offence to you good sirs..."

Riza smiled slightly as Roy glared at him when the gloves were returned; the Colonel immediately slipped them on, giving him a threatening look as he did so.

"Calm down, Sir," she said, wiping the smile from her face with ease. "He gave them back, didn't he?"

"They shouldn't have been taken in the first place," Roy shot back, still glaring at the boy.

"If you'd said you're with Ed, I wouldn't have!" the young pick-pocket protested. "Soldiers round these parts ain't common, and when they do come in it ain't good news. Best not to let 'em have an advantage."

"So you both know Edward, then?" Riza cut Roy off as he opened his mouth to retort; the Colonel was immediately placated, his curiosity overwhelming his irritation.

"He's done a few favours for some of us before, comes in to talk to us every now and then," the woman shrugged. "Wouldn't say we really know him, but he's got principles – I like that."

"And what kind of principles would they be?" Roy asked sceptically, unable to keep a slightly scathing note from entering his voice. The young woman gave him an even stare for a moment before answering.

"He doesn't judge," she said icily, taking a final drag from the cigarette before blowing the smoke in his face and crushing the butt beneath her boot. "And he doesn't look at us like we're damaged goods," she added coldly, turning on her heel to walk down a side street. "This way."

Riza was the first to follow, giving a small nod to the boy before she walked after the woman; the male soldiers glanced at each other, briefly re-checking their weapons before they too began walking.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" Riza asked her, too quietly for the others to hear; the young woman slowed slightly so they were walking next to each other.

"Elizabeth," she answered softly. "What about you?"

"Riza."

"That's unusual."

"It's more of a nickname, technically – an abbreviation."

"So what's your full name?"

"Elizabeth."

The younger woman smiled slightly as they turned down another street and saw a blonde boy speaking to a man Riza recognised as the leader of a large crime ring; they caught sight of her and Edward nodded to him before he slipped out of view, only narrowly avoiding being seen by Roy and Maes as they rounded the corner moments later. Edward shook his head slightly at the Lieutenant, silently asking her not to reveal anything; she sighed to herself as she nodded while Roy began quizzing him on what he had found out.

---

Chaaaaaaaarlie..... XD So, how were my attempts at OCs?


	4. Chapter 4

I think it's about time for another update, don't you? I'm writing around three or four chapters ahead of where I'm uploading, so in theory they could be more often but I'd like to stay a bit ahead just in case I get stuck on something. But yeah....

Disclaimer - I'm not Japanese, and my self-portrait is not a really awesome cow. So no, I'm not Arakawa-sensei, but I do borrow her characters for abuse in non-profit products of boredom such as this.

---

_Edward let himself roll sideways onto his hip to sit properly, his gaze drifting onto the rock in front of him; it was sheer, at least a hundred metres high if not more. If he was in full health he could have climbed it relatively safely, but in the state he was and having to get the child up to the top as well... This wasn't going to be easy._

_His first thought of how he was actually going to climb it was to transmute some steps, but he felt far too exhausted to even attempt to make the steps and then climb them. Walking in any direction and trying to find where the cliff sank to meet the riverbank wasn't an option – he could see to the next bend, and it didn't show any signs of getting any lower. So it would have to be upwards, and he would have to transmute some steps whether he had the energy or not._

_Taking a deep breath, Edward pushed himself quickly to his feet; pain shot through his entire body, but he didn't dwell on it or pay any heed when his flesh ankle nearly gave way beneath him. It was obviously a bad sprain at the very least, but he had to walk on it whether it was injured or not._

_Setting his jaw, he took a step forward and gasped in surprise when his ankle cracked loudly and white-hot pain exploded out from it. No, it hadn't been sprained – it had been dislocated, and he'd just put weight on it and moved it back into place. He stumbled slightly, but kept his balance; he needed to walk to the cliff, and he couldn't do it if he took time to register the amount of pain he was in, so he walked cautiously, testing the ground before he stepped and limping slightly with his left leg._

_He paused for a moment when he reached the boulders towards the bottom of the cliff. How the hell was he getting over those when he could barely walk on flat ground?_

---

"The Kenchi River?" Roy repeated, one eyebrow raised slightly; he hadn't expected Edward to be able to find out anything, never mind the kidnappers' intended route.

"Yep," Edward nodded with certainty. "Apparently they were talking about heading up that way and following the river north until they got to the bridge."

"And you're sure you can trust this information?"

"Yes."

Hawkeye gave the boy an apprehensive look, but he met her gaze with a steady stare that told her to trust him; again she sighed in defeat, and still didn't say anything to Roy about what she had seen. She wasn't entirely sure why she was keeping back the fact that Edward's information came from a wanted criminal, but the boy seemed sure he could trust these people and they obviously had some degree of respect for him, so she could only hope they had enough honour not to lie to the boy.

"Don't worry," Elizabeth whispered to Riza, reading her expression like a book. "That guy might not be the most favourable of folks, but he owes Ed; he wouldn't lie to him."

Riza stared at her silently for a moment, before turning her gaze back to the two alchemists in front of her.

"If the Colonel finds out, he won't let it rest," Riza replied softly. "He won't admit it, but he hates Ed taking risks – even if it does garner the better outcome, he'll still warn him against doing it again."

"About the one thing we've got going for us here is honour, and just about the worst thing you can do is betray someone who's helped you out. He won't have told him anything other than what he heard."

"Hawkeye, come on," Roy called to her as the soldiers began walking. "We're heading over there now."

She nodded in response and began walking before pausing and turning back to Elizabeth.

"Keep yourself safe," she said softly before leaving; the brunette woman smiled slightly.

"You too," she returned, too quietly for Riza to hear.

---

Any thoughts on Elizabeth? Be honest; she's disappearing for a while anyways, so you won't have to see her cry about it lol Any thoughts on the chapter/fic in general? Reviews make Puddy a happy writer...


	5. Chapter 5

Apologies for the late update; stuff, as per usual, felt like practising its habit of getting in the way. Needless to say it succeeded, but anyways, new chapter time!

Disclaimer - I'm not Japanese, and my self-portrait is not a really awesome cow. So no, I'm not Arakawa-sensei, but I do borrow her characters for abuse in non-profit products of boredom such as this.

---

_Behind Edward the boy struggled to his feet, crying softly as he pushed himself to his very limit; walking slowly he approached the blonde, who was leaning against a boulder and cursing under his breath. The boy paused for a moment, doubled over in pain before he gathered the strength to lift his head and speak._

"_Father always told me the people who use those words are bad," he sniffled quietly; Edward turned slightly and glared daggers at him._

"_Well your father's obviously never been stuck at the bottom of a damn cliff before," the alchemist growled, completely unsympathetic towards the child._

"_He also said-"_

"_If he also said anything at all out loud to you, I don't want to hear it. I'm your only ticket out of here, so unless you have something useful to say, shut your damn mouth."_

"_He also said the kind of people who used those words," the child continued defiantly. "Were the kind of people he didn't want me to be around."_

"_So I'm leaving you here, then?" Edward raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Suits me fine."_

_He gritted his teeth and forced his arms – the real one broken, the automail one damaged at the nerve connections – to pull him up and over three boulders, ignoring the pain flaring in his ribs each time he rested his weight on them, before the younger boy realised he was serious._

"_I'm sorry!" he cried out suddenly, ignoring his own pain to scramble over the boulders and catch Edward up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"_

_The older boy paused for a moment to regard him coolly._

"_Do you always listen to your father? Do you agree with everything he says?"_

"_Well... I don't really know any of the people he's warned me against..."_

"_So how do you know what he says is true?" Edward asked bluntly; the boy was silent. "People are good or bad because of their actions and their reasons, not because of how they speak. Now, are you going to start thinking for yourself or not?"_

_The boy nodded silently, only the smallest of sniffles escaping him; Edward watched him for a moment before continuing to haul himself over boulders, gesturing for the boy to follow._

---

After three hours of walking outside of Central's borders, the soldiers came across some small hills that hid the river's canyon from view; Roy indicated for Havoc and Edward to scout the area out while he and the others began planning.

"What if they aren't even over there?" Danby asked cautiously; he was loathe to attract Roy's attention, but everyone was assuming Edward's information was correct.

"Then we keep going upstream," Roy replied calmly, eyes warning the Lieutenant not to ask again. "But we need to plan now, unless you'd rather just walk over to them and say hi?"

"No..."

"When he gets back, Fullmetal will circle around to the sides with Lieutenant Hawkeye. Hughes will back up the Lieutenant, Rusher back up Fullmetal. We'll come from here; Havoc will stay back slightly, acting as a support but not getting too involved; we need him in case anyone gets injured, so make sure you all cover him too."

Nods from the soldiers met his words as the other two returned; the plan was outlined to them before they could tell what they had found.

"Got it," Havoc nodded. "They are over there, but they're right by the edge."

"The ground looks unstable around there, though," Edward added absently, lost in thought. "But if we don't get to him before they see us, they'll just throw him over..."

"Could you get to him if we distract them?" Roy asked, his gaze drifting over to the small hills as he reworked his plan slightly.

"Probably."

"Then you circle around first, make sure you stay out of sight. Rusher, Hawkeye and Hughes watch his back; _do not_ fire unless you have to. I'll make the distraction, Danby you cover Havoc."

"Got it," came the murmured replies. Roy locked eyes with Edward.

"Go."

The blonde nodded once before heading over towards the far side of the hills, sliding into place and waiting for the others. Roy gestured for the others to move out, then counted silently to twenty before snapping his fingers to send a bolt of fire springing up into the air. He climbed onto one of the hills; he knew he was presenting himself as an open target, but he also knew the chances of any bullets hitting him were slim. Keeping one eye on the kidnappers, all of whom were aiming at him, waiting for him to make a move, he watched Edward slip behind them.

One person was standing too close to the edge and the boy for Edward to go unnoticed; Roy sent a weakened flame towards the man at the front of the group to try and draw him forwards, but he wouldn't move even when everyone else took a step towards the Flame Alchemist. Cursing silently, he signalled for the other soldiers to also make an appearance; Edward took the opportunity and locked the man's arms behind his back with his automail arm, while clamping his real hand over his nose and mouth to keep him quiet and momentarily starve him of oxygen. It worked, and Roy saw the man go limp as the blonde boy silently lowered him to the ground and crept over to the child.

A standoff for a moment, before Roy nodded to Edward and signalled for the soldiers to begin firing.

"Get the kid!" the man at the front yelled after the first few seconds of initial confusion from battle had worn off. Three at the back turned around and stared silently at Edward as he froze in place and swore softly; if Roy tried to help him, the force of the attack would send them all over the cliff.

Ducking suddenly as a bullet whipped past his head, the Colonel jumped down into the group below and began attacking properly; he was aiming to injure instead of kill, which took far more precision and concentration. He glanced over at Edward and saw a crack running along the ground between that small group and the rest, but that was forgotten, pushed aside by the sight of five of the men now moving closer to the blonde alchemist. Roy felt the ground shudder beneath his feet, but turned away as a bullet bit into his arm – Edward was a strong fighter, he could get himself and the boy away despite the odds.

A tall form tackled Roy, sending him sprawling onto his back and following him down with a knife aimed at his throat; the Colonel's hands grabbed his attacker's wrists instantly, the blade hovering millimetres above his neck as he tried to push him off and gain possession of the weapon.

His efforts were saved by the ground shaking again, this time more violent and longer, accompanied by a cracking, crumbling sound; the tremors threw his attacker off, but instantly he was back on his feet as Roy scrambled up, attacking him again with more vigour and a triumphant grin on his features.

"You lose, Colonel!" he laughed, stabbing at him wildly and too fast for Roy to counter-attack.

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously, his mind focused on not being killed.

The only reply he got was more cackling laugher, cut off by a bullet slamming into his head.

Roy paused, staring around; only his soldiers were standing now, wiping clean their weapons and reloading them. His eyes scanned all of the surrounding area as a heavy feeling settled itself in his gut.

"What is it, Sir?" Hawkeye asked instantly.

"Where's Edward?"

The other soldiers froze, glancing guiltily at one another as they realised they had lost track of where he was when they were supposed to be covering him. Only Havoc moved, running from his position and leaping onto the tallest of the mounds; he shielded his eyes from the sun, turning a slow circle before coming to face the cliff edge and pointing slowly.

"It's crumbled," he said softly.

"What?" Roy snapped, his temper fraying. Havoc cleared his throat before speaking louder.

"The rock's crumbled; it's come in about ten feet. It's where... It's right where Ed was standing."

Maes, who was nearest, edged towards the point the rock had broken at, leaning out as far as he dared; he couldn't see much, so with a sigh of frustration he lay on the ground and pulled himself forwards so his head and shoulders were over the edge. Rusher crouched next to him, leaning on the Major's legs to keep him anchored. They stayed like that for over a minute before Maes pulled himself back up and sat on the ground.

"It's a mess down there, Roy," he told him gently. "About the only thing I can see is blood and limbs."

"But you said he'd survived bad odds before, though, right?" Danby asked quietly, weakly. "You said he was like a cockroach and no-one could kill him."

"Cockroaches aren't immortal, you know."

"But this was supposed to be an easy mission..."

"We don't know anything for sure, and we can't know unless someone volunteers to go down there and look," Roy cut in, his back to the soldiers. "Since it's unlikely anyone is going to do that, we need to head back to HQ to hand in our reports."

Hesitation met his instruction, but no words. Guiltily they began walking away, occasionally casting apologetic glances back but still no-one even so much as whispered.

Roy kept his gaze fixed ahead as they walked.

---

Why is it always Ed? His health insurance must be through the roof... But anyways, questions? Comments? General bitching?


	6. Chapter 6

Shh, don't worry, I do know what's happening - I'm writing over three chapters ahead of where I'm posting, so don't panic and think I'm digging myself a hole here XD But in answer to the amount of "omgwtf?!" responses last chapter got, this one explains Mustang's decision - my reasoning is at the bottom, if anyone cares to read and/or argue against it.

Disclaimer - I'm not Japanese, and my self-portrait is not a really awesome cow. So no, I'm not Arakawa-sensei, but I do borrow her characters for abuse in non-profit products of boredom such as this.

---

_Edward stared up at the rock face as hopelessness weighed him down; the more he looked at it, the more he realised it would have been difficult even if he had been in full health. The rock was sheer, with only small holds to help someone climb it._

_It would have to be alchemy._

_He sighed, and gingerly tested both of his arms; if he used the minimum amount of power to create bigger and more frequent footholds, he wouldn't be able to stand the throbbing in his arms for very long, and would probably fall. Not to mention the problem of getting the child up with him. Steps, he decided eventually; he would need to craft steps into the rock so they could climb up that way. Or a slope... A slope was probably easier and would use less power, but if it rained or one of them tripped there would be nothing for them to use to stop themselves falling._

_Gritting his teeth against the burning in his arms, he pressed his hands against each other and then against the rock. Electric blue bolts shot up and along the cliff, creating solid steps that went halfway up the rock._

"_Don't we need to get to the top?" the boy asked gingerly._

"_Yeah," Edward replied through still-gritted teeth. "But if anyone who wouldn't like us is waiting up the top, I don't want them coming down to meet us."_

_The child said no more, only following silently as Edward began climbing the steps, each one taking a huge amount of effort to conquer; it wasn't long before both of them grew so tired they used their aching arms to help pull them up._

---

"Roy..." Hughes began tentatively, speeding up to walk alongside his friend. "We should have gone down there." The Flame glanced at him, his expression unreadable. "Everyone's thinking it; even if we didn't find anything, we still should have-"

"Should have what?" Roy challenged him quietly, his gaze fixed at a point ahead. "Getting closer to that mess would have thrown everyone off even more, and you said yourself they probably fell into the water. A search and rescue party of six is _not_ effective, no matter how you look at it; we'd just be wasting time. Besides, if they were injured badly enough to need serious help, they'd need more than one medic. Good as he is, we only have Havoc with us, not a whole team and it'd be too dangerous to try and get them back up the cliff. We need the Fuhrer to give us extra men."

"I do see where you're coming from," Maes sighed after a moment. "But that doesn't mean I agree."

"Neither do I."

"So why order us away?"

"Something isn't right with this."

"How d'you mean?"

"The Drachman ambassador seemed a little too quick to point the finger at us, and Bradley seemed too keen to get us to come here. Something's not right..."

"So you're leaving a probably-unconscious and potentially-dying Ed to take care of himself and a possibly-dead kid based on a hunch?"

Roy didn't answer, a frown crossing his features as he gazed out into the distance.

"For your sake I hope he's okay..."

---

"Colonel, where is the boy?" the Fuhrer asked as the team silently entered his office; Roy didn't reply immediately. "Colonel Mustang, your mission was to rescue the child – did you succeed or not?"

"No, Sir," Roy forced out, his gaze not on the Fuhrer but fixed instead on a point three inches above his head. "We... We lost FullMetal too, Sir."

"What happened?"

"The kidnappers were by the cliffs on the Kenchi River; FullMetal went to protect the boy by the edge, but the rocks collapsed before they could move. We weren't able to see them from the top, and a search party of six is too small to be effective; we need more-"

"There won't be a search party."

"What?"

"There will be no troops leaving to search for them."

"Fuhrer... Why?"

"We need all the men here," Bradley answered calmly, standing and walking towards the large window, his back to the soldiers. "I had hoped he would be brought back safely... The reason such importance was placed on this mission is because the Drachman ambassador has brought his troops nearby already. I received a message when the boy was kidnapped stating that if he wasn't found safely, they would destroy us."

"With respect, Sir, why wasn't this mentioned before?" Roy asked, catching his soldiers' worried glances.

"I felt your team would be able to recover him with little trouble, that is why you were sent West; it was the most likely route for them to have taken. As this mission failed, we must now prepare for war."

"This seems a little sudden... I'm aware the Drachman relationship has been strained since Ishbal, but-"

"Exactly – they believe if we hadn't have suppressed the Eastern uprising, the ISAAM wouldn't exist. They blame us fully, so I suggest you organise your subordinates and prepare to be deployed within the city."

Roy frowned for a moment, before saluting and leaving the office with his subordinates trailing behind. Danby and Rusher exchanged glances, unsure of what they should be doing now the mission was over; go back to their superiors or wait to be dismissed by Roy? They opted for the latter, following the raven haired Colonel back to his office.

The second the door had closed, Havoc violently kicked a chair across the room, swearing loudly before sitting on the sofa and balling his fists in frustration; only Roy didn't watch, his back to them as he gazed out of the window.

"What shall we do now, Sir?" Riza asked gently, tearing her eyes away from her friend to watch the alchemist's reaction.

"We wait," the Colonel replied simply, not turning around.

---

With regards to Mustang's actions, personally I think staying to look for them would have been OOC - he knows what Ed's like, and the bigger picture is more important. That's just me, though; you might have other ideas.


	7. Chapter 7

Apologies - I started at university in September, and apparently being on a writing course leaves me no time to write. Go figure... Anyways, this was actually written months ago, but since I'm trying to be constantly four chapters ahead of myself and haven't had the time to write any more lately, it's only just being uploaded. Also, to me and my new "what makes bad writing" knowledge, this story now looks pretty crap but I have no inclination to edit any of what's already written. In other words, it won't get better until after chapter ten (and it might take a while to get to that point, considering how little writing time I now have...) Anyways....

Disclaimer - I'm not Japanese, and my self-portrait is not a really awesome cow. So no, I'm not Arakawa-sensei, but I do borrow her characters for abuse in non-profit products of boredom such as this.

---

_It grew dark as they reached the top of the steps, forcing them to halt their progress and stay where they were for the night. Edward had thought ahead and made a ledge for them to stay on while crafting the stairs, so that wasn't the issue; it was the cold. The blonde hadn't been wearing his red coat, and his jacket had been lost when they fell; the boy didn't have any warm clothes on either, and both of them were still wet and weak._

_Edward swore softly; he would have to stay awake and make sure the boy didn't get too cold while also trying to keep himself warm._

_The young boy yawned widely, wincing as he moved slightly to settle himself down to sleep._

"_Hey Kid," Edward said suddenly._

"_Hmm?"_

"_What's your name?"_

"_Ari," the boy answered, already with tiredness creeping into his voice. "It means 'eagle'."_

_The blonde regarded him with mild curiosity, watching him silently as he drifted off to sleep; he didn't seem fazed at all. If anything, he seemed almost too calm for the situation..._

_With a small start, Edward realised why as Riza's voice rang in his head; 'The ambassador believes it's the military's fault that the child was captured'. The boy knew something would happen if Edward returned without him, so he knew he was safe; Edward, on the other hand, was now feeling an unspoken threat hanging over his head._

_But they probably already thought they were both dead..._

---

A gentle knock on the door broke the silence in two as the soldiers exchanged hesitant glances; they didn't want to have to explain what happened, not to him.

"Come in," Roy called eventually. The door opened gingerly, as though the entrant were afraid of making even a tiny amount of noise. "I didn't think you'd get here so soon, Alphonse."

"It never takes too long unless Brother drags his heels," the suit of armour replied softly; he didn't want to leave the comfort of small talk behind, but he had to know. Did he have the courage to ask, though? Steeling himself for the answer, he squeezed his gauntlets into fists and stood straighter. "Colonel... What happened?"

"We aren't sure," Roy sighed. "None of us saw it. All we know is he and the kid were near the edge of the cliff, and the rock around them crumbled before they could move."

"Do you think... Do you think he's-"

"I don't know, Al. I really don't know..."

"I should have been there," Alphonse said suddenly. "If I'd have been there, I could have-"

"Could have what, Alphonse?" Roy interrupted harshly. "The reason he was near the edge was to get the kid before they killed him. The last time I looked, they were surrounded; they couldn't have moved, but Edward could have gotten them out. The only reason he didn't is because the rock collapsed, which you couldn't have done anything about – not in time to help them, anyway, so it's no use blaming yourself. It doesn't do any good, and it just wastes time. It was a top-priority military mission; even if you had been able to do something, you wouldn't have been allowed to take part."

"Then I'll enlist."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Edward said from the start he didn't want you involved with the military."

"But he isn't here because-"

"He isn't here because he was involved. He never wanted the same for you, so the least you could do is respect what he wanted; you _are_ is brother, aren't you? Start acting like it."

Alphonse was speechless; he had heard the Colonel silence his brother before, but had never imagined he himself would get the man so angry he would say something like that to him. But he was right, the armour realised with a start, looking away from that intense onyx gaze. Alphonse always nagged Edward about respecting people's wishes to keep them away from trouble, but _he_ wasn't respecting Edward when he tried to keep him safe...

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "It's just... I was sitting in the library doing research while Brother was in trouble, and-"

"Like I said, you couldn't have come along," Roy repeated quietly, instantly silencing the armour again. "I tried getting you permission after squads were announced, but Bradley wanted no-one outside of the military involved. It was pushing it even just to get you allowed to go with Edward normally and be allowed in the library; the military is being held responsible for the boy's kidnapping, it was never likely you would be able to help with this."

"We all know you're probably more capable than us, Kid," Maes added. "Even Bradley knows that, but if it's the military's responsibility then it's the military that has to solve it."

"I don't understand how it's the military's fault, though," the youngest Elric admitted. Roy sighed softly, glancing towards Riza to help him out as he began to explain.

"Do you know what the ISAAM is?"

---

"So... These people blame the military for something that couldn't have been helped?" Alphonse asked slowly, still not fully understanding.

"No," Maes corrected quietly, a bitter note tainting his voice. "They blame the military for something that could have been helped; the situation in Ishbal could have been solved diplomatically, but we went straight to war instead."

"The ISAAM have been giving us trouble ever since they formed a few years after the war," Riza added. "The Drachman ambassador's view is that if the war hadn't happened then the ISAAM wouldn't have formed and his son wouldn't have been kidnapped."

"But that's a stupid view," Roy cut in harshly, gaining a nod of agreement from the suit of armour. "If it wasn't the ISAAM, at some point some other group would have taken him. It's just bad luck they think it's our fault."

"Is there going to be another search party?" Alphonse asked gingerly. Roy paused; he had forgotten to tell him...

"No."

"_What_?"

"The Fuhrer wants all resources here; that probably includes you in place of your brother."

"But I'm not him... I don't have the same skills..."

"You're a powerful alchemist; that's good enough for Bradley, so get yourself ready just in case."

---

Fear/spam not - Roy explains what he's doing in the next chapter, I promise...


End file.
